Alicia Keys covers the new issue of Entertainment Weekly.Here are excerpts of the interview.
Alicia on her 2006 emotional breaking point as a close family member fell ill with cancer:
“It made me finally stop. Nothing else was more important – no work, no costumes, no anything. I was forced to slow down, look at my life, and decide who I wanted to be. It all got very low at first because I was very depressed and I didn’t understand why.”
Alicia on being a closed-book:
“Ever since I was little, I always felt like if people knew about me, they’d be able to use it against me. I’ve just always been like, ‘If you don’t know about me, there’s nothing you can say to destroy or hurt me.’ So, moving into a career where people are always prying, my instinct has always been to close up. I discovered a lot about myself I didn’t like. I would look in the mirror, and I didn’t know who that person was. I didn’t like my eyes; I didn’t like what they said. I couldn’t sleep. I was uncomfortable all the time, and irritated and frustrated.”
Alicia on her month-long solo trip to Egypt:
“It gave me a new sense of power, freedom, creativity, and limitlessness. When I came back [to New York], I was so much more clear. I didn’t want to feel so closed and internal. I wanted to enjoy life and explore the possibilities of life. And that’s when I started doing music for this album.”
